Marriott’s $450 Million Series LL Redemption Takes Effect

Marriott International’s redemption of all $450 million of its 5.450% Series LL Notes takes effect Saturday, August 29, removing the issue from outstanding debt 17 days before its scheduled September 15 maturity. The redemption price is 100% of principal plus accrued and unpaid interest to, but not including, August 29.

Marriott announced the planned redemption on August 19, saying interest would stop accruing on and after the redemption date and the notes would cease to be outstanding. The company is redeeming the entire issue, rather than only part of the $450 million principal amount.

There is one calendar wrinkle. August 29 falls on a Saturday. The prospectus governing the Series LL notes says that when a redemption date is not a business day, the payment otherwise due is made on the next business day without an additional payment because of the delay. That points to Monday, August 31, for the cash payment mechanics, while August 29 remains the contractual redemption date and the point from which interest no longer accrues.

Redemption comes after the Series LL par-call date

The timing matters because Marriott is exercising the redemption after the notes entered their par-call period. The original terms allowed Marriott to redeem the Series LL notes before August 15, 2026 using a formula that could require a make-whole amount based on Treasury yields. On or after August 15, the company could redeem at 100% of principal plus accrued and unpaid interest.

That structure means the August 29 redemption does not require Marriott to pay a make-whole premium. Marriott is taking the notes out only a little more than two weeks before maturity, after the contractual step-down to a par redemption price. The company’s August 19 notice matches that framework by setting the price at principal plus accrued interest rather than a Treasury-based premium.

The SEC-filed pricing terms show that Marriott issued $450 million of Series LL notes in September 2023 with a 5.450% coupon and a September 15, 2026 maturity. The notes were sold to the public at 99.349% of principal, with an indicated yield to maturity of 5.689%. Interest was scheduled semiannually on March 15 and September 15.

Series LL was part of a larger September 2023 debt offering. Marriott also issued $700 million of 5.550% Series MM notes due October 15, 2028. The prospectus for that combined offering estimated about $1.135 billion of net proceeds after underwriting discounts and expenses. Marriott said at the time that the money was for general corporate purposes, which could include working capital, capital spending, acquisitions, stock repurchases or repayment of outstanding debt. The company did not earmark those proceeds for a single use.

Series LL was Marriott’s nearest major note maturity

Marriott’s second-quarter 2026 filing showed the Series LL notes with a $450 million face amount and a $450 million balance as of June 30. The same filing reported a $460 million current portion of long-term debt, making Series LL the dominant near-term maturity in the company’s debt table at quarter-end.

Retiring the notes removes the 5.450% coupon obligation from the maturity schedule before the September 15 due date. It also eliminates the final scheduled September interest payment as a separate maturity-date payment because the redemption price instead includes accrued interest through the day before August 29. The weekend payment rule does not extend the interest-accrual period.

The redemption should not be read as evidence that Marriott’s overall debt is falling by exactly $450 million. The August 19 announcement did not identify the source of funds, and a debt repayment can be financed from cash, operating cash flow, new borrowings or a combination of sources. Without a funding disclosure, the confirmed development is narrower: one $450 million senior note issue is being retired and will no longer appear as outstanding after the redemption date.

At June 30, Marriott reported total debt of about $16.9 billion and cash and equivalents of about $0.5 billion, compared with $16.2 billion of debt and $0.4 billion of cash at the end of 2025. Net interest expense was $201 million in the second quarter, up from $191 million a year earlier, with Marriott attributing the increase primarily to higher debt balances, partly offset by higher interest income.

Marriott has also lengthened parts of its debt profile in 2026

The Series LL retirement comes during a year in which Marriott has raised longer-dated debt as well. In the first quarter, the company issued $600 million of 4.5% Series WW senior notes due in 2033 and $850 million of 5.1% Series XX senior notes due in 2038. Marriott has not said that those offerings directly funded the Series LL redemption, so linking the issuances as a specific refinancing would go beyond the disclosed record.

The company has also continued to return capital to shareholders. Marriott said it repurchased $1.1 billion of common stock in the second quarter and $2.2 billion through July 29, while total shareholder returns through that date, including dividends and repurchases, were approximately $2.6 billion. Those outlays provide context for a balance sheet that is simultaneously supporting debt service, new borrowing and equity distributions.

Once Series LL is retired, Marriott’s June 30 debt schedule shows the next listed senior note maturity as $400 million of Series TT notes due July 15, 2027, followed by $1 billion of Series JJ notes due October 15, 2027. The $700 million Series MM notes issued alongside Series LL remain scheduled to mature in October 2028.